Howard unhappy in Houston; bound for Heat?

[Andrew]

Dwight Howard Is Reportedly Unhappy In Houston And Could Be Headed To The Miami Heat

Dwight Howard is extremely unhappy in Houston playing second fiddle to alpha dog James Harden, multiple league sources tell SheridanHoops.com. And with the Rockets underachieving more than any NBA team, look for them to try to move Howard later this season.

And the destination that makes the most sense is Miami in a trade centered around Hassan Whiteside.

…Heat president Pat Riley is going to try to turn [Hassan] Whiteside into the best available center he can find. Not only does Howard fit that bill, he also would be placed back in position to be an alpha dog for the first time since he left the Sunshone State after the 2011-12 season in a trade that sent him to the Lakers, where he was immediately at odds with Kobe Bryant.

Howard is often maligned, and to be fair, a lot of the criticisms aren't inaccurate. Still, he is a legitimate talent, currently making the most of his limited touches while still rebounding and defending. If he's available, you at least have to consider the possibilities.

However...Whiteside is currently playing very well in his role, at a much lower price tag. He's also a few years younger and is already integrated into the system, which makes him a very solid player to have as the Heat continue to re-tool and get back to contention following LeBron's departure. Do you take the gamble?

[NovU]

xD... I think you beat me to it. I made a thread regarding similar topic. Feel free to lock my thread.

[NovU]

I like Hassan Whiteside more for the Heat but perhaps this could work out well since the Heat are slow paced team. Aging Howard won't have to run back and forth the court as much as he does in Houston.

I'm gonna say, TAKE THE GAMBLE Riley. If this team is gonna stay at 6-8th seed in East even with Whiteside who's to walk next year anyway, might as well take a chance with big name stars like Dwight.

[Kevin]

Fucking hell. Can this guy not be contented on any team?

[Kevin]

I like Hassan Whiteside more for the Heat but perhaps this could work out well since the Heat are slow paced team. Aging Howard won't have to run back and forth the court as much as he does in Houston.

I'm gonna say, TAKE THE GAMBLE Riley. If this team is gonna stay at 6-8th seed in East even with Whiteside who's to walk next year anyway, might as well take a chance with big name stars like Dwight.

Do not. Whiteside has so much potential to be more than what Dwight can be.

[[Q]]

Can we declare Dwight a major locker room problem wherever he goes? Hardens probably not the most accommodating superstar either

[stereoxide]

Dwightmare 3.0

[Sauru]

the problem with howard is he thinks he is olajuwon when he is really a dikembe. now there is nothing wrong with that at all but for some reason in his eyes there is

[mp3]

When has Dwight been happy????

I think he's being a diva in this league since 09 and doesn't seem to like playing along side "star" players but the truth is you ain't winning shit with Dwight Howard being your teams main focus

[Sauru]

When has Dwight been happy????

I think he's being a diva in this league since 09 and doesn't seem to like playing along side "star" players but the truth is you ain't winning shit with Dwight Howard being your teams main focus

exactly. he wants to win so he goes to good teams but then gets mad when he is not the number 1 guy. a team with howard as the defensive anchor and the 3rd/4th option on offense will do good but he will never be happy in that situation which means you will never get his best effort.

what he needs to do is go to a bad team if he wants to be the star. of course if he does that he will need to get used to watching the playoffs every year

[Andrew]

the problem with howard is he thinks he is olajuwon when he is really a dikembe. now there is nothing wrong with that at all but for some reason in his eyes there is

I'd say he's notably better offensively than Dikembe, though obviously his repertoire is a far cry from The Dream's, too.

Howard's attitude is problematic, but I do think he's being underutilised by the Rockets at the moment. Harden's the better number one option (though he's been shooting poorly for much of the season so far), but Howard shouldn't be behind Ariza (37%), Thornton (only 21 minutes per game), and Jones in field goal attempts. On a winning team where he can play a bigger role offensively - even if it isn't the number one option - I imagine he could be effective, and happier.

[NovU]

I think the media blew this one out of water as usual. Dwight's still not fully cleared to play regular minutes on second night of back to back set. He was never cleared to play back to back set until about a month ago. And he said this piece about a month ago too.

"I know early in the season, being a fan of the team you might get upset," said Howard regarding his rest scheduled. "You’re trying to understand why. It’s all about longevity. The biggest thing is making sure at the playoffs, all of us are healthy. And I want to make sure that later in the season, I’m on the court instead of in a suit watching."

Of course, he's been a second fiddle to Harden and still is as he's still fully not healthy. Why would he suddenly be pissed off being a second fiddle? I am guessing Dwight just hates the way things are being played out in Houston. It just makes more sense. Of course I wouldn't be happy either when your coach's gone, still losing games, underperforming to this day, Harden playing inconsistent, second fiddle players like Tjones not showing up, Ty Lawson trade absolutely turning out to be terrible. And DaryLoL Morey is the one that probably wants to move Dwight anyway as he's the best bet to improve the team if change is to come.




That said, that's really not important. If Hassan's gonna walk, then getting Dwight in return for the Heat sounds like a decent idea/gamble. Even between Cousins and Dwight, I'd actually prefer Dwight because I just can't stand Cousins's bad body language on the court. I think Cousins's a blackhole and will be detrimental to Wade and Bosh's last attempt to contend.

[koberulz]

Dwight has zero post moves, a game based entirely on athleticism, and is 30.

He also refuses to be interested in playing on teams that won't contend, or on teams on which he's not the star.

It's never going to work out.

[Andrew]

If Hassan's gonna walk, then getting Dwight in return for the Heat sounds like a decent idea/gamble.

Do you think it's likely he'll walk? I imagine there'll be more than a few teams throwing money at him, but the Heat will probably make a decent pitch themselves.

[NovU]

From what I hear, the Heat can only offer 9-10 millionish. That's about half the max that other teams can pay him.


Hassan + Winslow + salary junks(Deng? Andersen, maybe McBob) for established star like Cousins or Dwight wouldn't be a bad gamble imo. I don't want Wade's last couple good years to go wasted like Kobe's.

[Jackal]

Howard isn't happy. I'm shocked.

On a serious note though, if I were the Heat I wouldn't do it. He's getting older, his game is based on athleticism only and he'll still probably want a large paycheck. Stick it out with Whiteside and see what becomes available this off-season. I also don't think Riley is nuts enough to give up Winslow and Whiteside for Howard. I wouldn't.

Howard doesn't like playing the pick & roll either I think. His jumphook is atrocious and he's been injury riddled the last couple of years. He didn't want to be "the man" in Orlando. He didn't want to play the alpha asshole Bryant in LA and now he's unhappy in Houston. He partly went there for McHale as coach, he's gone. Should be interesting to see what happens to him.

I think Dallas would have been a better place for him.

[NovU]

Hassan's a new Isaac Austin for the Heat. Isaac played great when Mourning went down but that made him too expensive to keep around. There he was traded to other team while his value was peaking but he never lived up to his contract after re-signing with other team. Similarly Hassan and Isaac allegedly share same trait in poor attitude and lame work ethic.

After this season, Hassan becomes impossible to re-sign and S&T will return little value. Even worse, he could simply walk and go to any team he wishes, even to a Heat's rival.




Renting Dwight for a couple years isn't too bad while Whiteside's value is peaking and Dwight's value is hitting rock bottom. That's how much time Wade and Bosh have left in their legs anyways, two years tops.

[NovU]

http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2 ... ston-lies/

Well, there's that.

It seemed bit odd because Dwight embraced 'rest' plan to keep him fresh for the playoffs as he was recovering. Harden also ball dominant guy tried playing off the ball in early season. When things blew up with Ty Lawson, Harden went back to being a ball dominant guy which was only recently. Quick fact checking pointed if Dwight wasn't happy it'd be because of underperformance and not by his role or Harden's selfishness being a ball dominant guy. But ofc, nobody cares about the truth.

That said, I hope Dwight's still gonna be available. Hassan's gotta go somewhere. Cousins, Dwight definitely make interesting candidates.

[Jackal]

I still don't see Riley swapping Whiteside AND Winslow for Howard.

Agree about Whiteside though, he's gonna cash in on a major deal and then fade. My feeling about it at least.

Edit:

“I haven’t said anything to anybody about anything,” Howard said.

That's what he said about SvG's firing too. We know how that went.

[air gordon]

In a normal situation you wouldn't get anything for a player you don't have bird rights on/ basically a 4 month rental

We're talking about Riley though. You can count on something in the heist variety happening

Interesting proposition for Boston- do they wait on how low/high the Brooklyn pick will be or cash in the chips to get Cousins (who has no veto rights)

[Axel]

I'd hate to see Howard in a Heat uni. One of my least favorite players for sure. Boogie Cousins on the other hand?

Go get em Riles!

[NovU]

In a normal situation you wouldn't get anything for a player you don't have bird rights on/ basically a 4 month rental

We're talking about Riley though. You can count on something in the heist variety happening

Exactly. You are the oasis in this rough who realizes the situation and value of Whiteside.





I don't think many have been paying attention to the Heat so they don't realize Whiteside's the ultimate MAX player now and there is no other way to get him other than giving him MAX and not a dime less. He's wanted by everyone in this small ball era where center's role is better defined as non scoring(guards do), rebounding, and defending in which Whiteside absolutely excels. All contenders have this type of big man and Whiteside might be the best out of them all possibly only DeAndre equaling him.

Unless the Heat are going ALL IN this year, Riley will look to get something in return. Losing this kind of asset for NOTHING is how you become poor in this league.

[air gordon]

Ha tell that to the laker fans here. Robert upshaw is available

[Jackal]

I wasn't even advocating not getting Howard as a rental for Whiteside. Reading seems to be difficult.

I also don't think Riley is nuts enough to give up Winslow and Whiteside for Howard

Not once, but twice.

And since we're talking about unrelated shit anyways; some Bulls fans though...make bets they can't cash when it comes to it.

[air gordon]

There's a strong chance he will leave whichever team that trades for him since there are no bird rights involved/he will want the fat contract

There probably is a team out there with the cap to offer the max but why bother giving up the assets when you can just sign him in the offseason

Tis the season! Happy holidays, Jacky-boy!